WITH votes of 192-0 and zero abstention, the House of Representatives on Monday, December 16, approved on third and final reading a bill seeking to lower the optional retirement age of government workers to 56 years from the current 60 years.
The consolidated measure will amend Republic Act No. 8291, or the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) Act of 1997.
If enacted into law, this will give a qualified retiree the option to retire at 56 and still be entitled to old-age pension for life from GSIS.
To qualify, a government worker must have rendered at least 15 years of service and is not receiving a monthly pension from permanent total disability.
One of the principal authors, ACT Teachers Party-list Representative France Castro, said in her original proposed measure that public school teachers have been clamoring for early retirement.
"Teachers protest that, with the hazards and level of stress accompanying their duties, compulsory retirement at the late stage of 65 years old will not allow them to fully enjoy their retirement years," she explained in her bill.
"Teachers usually leave the profession not with satisfied smiles but assaulted by various illnesses. Whatever retirement benefits they receive will be spent not for their rest or their own businesses but solely for medical bills," she added.
The House conducted nominal voting on the consolidated bill Monday. (MVI/SunStar Philippines)